Wyckoff man arrested in Hawthorne a day after stealing his grandmother's car

A Wyckoff man was arrested in Hawthorne for possession of heroin just a day after being arrested for stealing and selling his grandmother's car for heroin.

Arthur J. Garlick, 22, of Wyckoff, was arrested and charged with heroin possession after Hawthorne Police found him to be in possession of three glassine envelopes of heroin on July 29. Bail was set at $7,500 with no 10-percent option and he was transported to Passaic County Jail.

Police saw male, later identified as Garlick, riding a bicycle in the street near Wagaraw Road and Lincoln Avenue. After seeing several cars almost hit Garlick, the officer pulled up next to him and asked him to ride on the sidewalk for his own safety, Capt. Jeff Vanderhook said.

While speaking with him, the officer recognized him from a previous arrest and Garlick continued to try to ride away from police. The officer then exited the car to further speak with him. As the officer approached Garlick he reached inside his shorts. He was told to take his hands out of his shorts and was patted down for safety, according to Vanderhook.

Police found a right bulge that was identified as his wallet. When Garlick went to retrieve his wallet, the officer saw glassine envelopes protruding from the top of the wallet. The office located three glassine envelopes of heroin that were stamped with "heart attack."

Wyckoff Police arrested Garlick on July 28 as part of an extensive investigation into the theft of a car from a church parking lot on June 3.

Garlick was arrested and charged with auto theft in the third degree after he admitted that he had stolen his grandmother's car and sold it in Paterson for $200 in cash and $150 worth of heroin. The complaint was referred to Bergen County Superior Court.

The 1999 Lincoln Town car was stolen from the parking lot of Cedar Hill Christian Reformed Church during the day while Garlick's grandmother, the owner of the car, was working as a poll worker on primary election day. Garlick, who lives with is grandmother, told police he knew she would be inside the church the entire day and used an extra set of keys to take the car.

Police recovered the car a week after it was stolen in Paterson when a license plate reader detected it. A Paterson man was arrested and placed in jail for possession of stolen property.

The Wyckoff detectives interviewed the man in jail for additional information and the resulting investigation led them to Garlick.

Wyckoff Police Chief Benjamin Fox thanked his detectives for their efforts in solving the crime in a press release.

"This crime highlights the ever growing heroin addiction problem recently called an 'absolute epidemic' by the Bergen County Prosecutor," Fox said. "Sadly, persons addicted will let nothing stand in their way to obtain heroin, even thefts from family members."